Falling Apart
by Masquerade Madness
Summary: Her heart has been broken by a bad boy. Her mind is being broken by a mad man. Crystal's new life is falling apart as quickly as she got used to it. Her loyalties to her teammates, family, and friends are tested as she beings to grow into her role as Mistress of the Elements. Pietro/QuicksilverxCrystal. [Sequel to Once Upon a Time, I Was Falling in Love.]
1. An Awful Lot of Running

Calm blue eyes stared into matching insane ones. Blackagar Boltagon, also knowns as Black Bolt, was trying to understand the reason for his younger brother's ignorance regarding their youngest cousin. He had permitted only himself, Karnak, and the Truthseer to be allowed to visit Maximus at this point. His wife was too emotionally unstable to deal with the madman, even though she had every right to be upset.

"My, my, brother! Can't you all just accept the fact that I have absolutely no idea where Crystalia is?" Maximus whined, pouting as he stared at his older brother through the glass.

Black Bolt shook his head as he walked out of the facility that was to be the permit home of his insane brother. Karnak, who was waiting outside the prison, kicked himself off of the wall and walked with Black Bolt.

"Any luck?" He asked his cousin.

Black Bolt didn't reply.

* * *

For days, the X-Men have been on the run from the humans that hunted them. They stayed close to the outskirts of towns and cities while in Upstate New York. Recently, they were staying in a cave, with little to no access to the media. Whenever a few of them went into a town, they'd catch whatever information they could from newspapers, televisions, and radios, but never a full report on anything. Evan also had a miniature television that worked when placed in the right area.

The news was all the same, though. Mutants had been revealed and were feared across the nation. The Xavier Institute was being examined and investigated, as was the Brotherhood house. The X-Men were wanted criminals.

Kurt ported around the cave, trying to find signal for the miniature TV. Crystal also had her phone, but it needed charging and wouldn't turn on. Not that she wanted it too. She would only be reminded of Pietro and his betrayal. Slumped down against the cave wall, she rested her head in her hands. She wanted to sleep. She needed to sleep. Her dreams were haunted by illusions of a madman, though. Looking up, she saw that her teammates managed to find reception for the TV and project the the image onto ice.

"Crys, can you see it okay?" Bobby asked her.

Crystal wasn't even looking at the screen, just listening to it. Either way, she gave a thumbs up. As soon as she did, though, Rogue and Logan came crashing into the cave. She jumped up as soon as quickly as her tired body let her and made her way towards the front of the cave.

Helicopters surrounded the entrance of their temporary shelter, telling them to surrender. Logan was ready to attack, but Scott wanted to stay on the defensive side. "It's what the Professor would have us do." He told Logan before the Wolverine hopped on his motorcycle and sped off.

Bobby made a path to their X-Chopper for Crystal, Rogue, and Scott to get across. Kitty, Jean, Kurt, and Evan immobilized the military without harming them before they joined the team and flew away. As they were flying the small TV on the plane started to work again, showing a news program.

"It's Juggernaut! He's loose!" Jean said as everyone tried to get a good look at the screen.

"And without the Professor…" Kitty trailed off.

"There's no way to stop him!" Kurt finished for her.

Jean tried to convince Scott to go stop the Juggernaut, but he was hesitant, convinced it would be the Sentinel all over again. Crystal nearly scoffed. _The only way it would be like the Sentinel would be if an asshole betrayed his friends for a father who doesn't care about him. _She frowned at the thought and crossed her arms as they flew to the scene of the destruction. Before they left the copter, Scott told them to focus on saving people first.

Kurt was the first to make an appearance as he saved the pilots of falling helicopters. The rest of the team perched themselves on a large rock. They went after the Juggernaut all together, using their powers against him. Kitty trapped him in a cement block so they could deal with the flooding dam.

Crystal and Jean levitated to the broken part of the dam. Crystal stopped the water from flowing down, but the pressure was building. Jean made sure that the water didn't get over pressure before Bobby froze it. It would have to work until they subdued Juggernaut.

The others tried to get the Juggernaut's helmet off of him, but that only seemed to fuel his anger and power, causing him to break out of the cement. He tossed Kurt at Jean, who hit Crystal as she lost concentration.

By the time Kurt got a hold of both of them and ported them to the top of the dam, Scott had taken off his visor and was blasting Juggernaut with all of his power. Occasionally, he would stray from the target, almost hitting the news crew. Juggernaut was pushing back with his full strength, though, and then grabbed a hold of Scott's face.

That's when the team rushed in to help. Bobby, Evan, and Crystal rushed at Juggernaut, getting his attention and attacking him. He swiped at them, knocking them away. Kitty and Rogue used this as an opportunity to sneak up on the unstoppable brick wall of a villain and have Rogue drain some of his powers.

He knocked her off of him and went after her, but Rogue, with some of his strength, managed to hold him back. She even was a challenge for him! She tossed him over her head and towards the bottom of the lake, Bobby freezing him in mid air. He went tumbling down into the lake, frozen in a block of ice.

As the military looked for the Juggernaut, the X-Men watched, waiting for them to find him. They couldn't though, but Scott said that it was too late for them to get Juggernaut. Most of the team went back into the copter, waiting for Scott, Jean, and Rogue. They came in a few minutes later, saying that they knew where the Professor was.

"How did this even happen?" Crystal said as the stasis fluid drained from the tank that the Professor was suspended in.

"That's just Mystique for you. She's full of tricks." Scott told her as the last of the fluid drained and Logan walked through the doors.

As the Professor woke up, Jean and Scott were right at his side. It only seemed right that they were there for him. The others wanted to be there, but they knew it wasn't their moment. No matter what, all of them were X-Men.

* * *

A very large dog sniffed around an old gas station, picking up on a scent. It was faint, but he caught it. _Dog smell Crystal! Dog might find friend! _He thought to himself as he looked at the old man who sat on the porch of the small convenience store. The dog, which was larger than a bear, wagged his small tail as the antenna on his head started to glow.

The man simply stared as a blue portal opened up and the dog jumped in it, barking happily. The portal closed. This wasn't the first time the old owner of the gas station saw something weird happen and he knew it wouldn't be the last.

**A/N: OMG OMG OMG! A SEQUEL! INHUMANS! DOGSSSSSS! Translation: I really hope you like this and if you did please review for me!**


	2. Ferris Wheels

"Is there a return address on them?"

"Like, really, is he that stupid?"

"Why would he even bother sending them here?"

Crystal groaned as she looked at the bouquet of flowers in her arms. It was beautiful with all of its different colors of lilies, roses, and tulips. If she had gotten these at an earlier point in time, she would have loved them, but now she only wanted them to burn. She wanted to find the person who sent them to her and throw them at his face. _While on fire!_ She thought, igniting a fire on the flowers.

Jean, Kitty, and Rogue screamed and backed up from the heat. Crystal held the burning weeds in her hands and stared at them. Was this Pietro's way of saying sorry? "Oh, hey, Crys, so sorry about leaving you for dead with the Sentinel and the military! Hope flowers will make it right!" she mimicked his voice, talking faster than normal. The other girls laughed as Crystal let the fire die and the ashes scatter away.

"What a jerk! He just thinks he can run back into your life with flowers and think you forgive him? Ugh!" Kitty said as the girls walked to the gazebo and went to their underground home.

Crystal shrugged. "I don't care if he comes back. If he even tried to look at him, he's gonna find himself trapped in an eternal tornado." She told them as they walked about the metal halls to the makeshift kitchen.

"Isn't that the third bouquet he's sent you?" Jean asked as the girls got out different snacks.

Crystal stared out at the wreckage of the Institute through surveillance monitors. It reminded her of the only time in her memory that Black Bolt has chosen to spoke. He laid ruins to half of Attilan. She didn't know much about that day, being young when it had happened, but she knew that it was to prevent an attack from the Kree that was brought on by Maximus. The echoes of Black Bolt's voice caused him to go mad. She rolled her eyes. He was probably mad before that, if he wanted the Kree to attack their home. She lazily looked over to Jean as she heard the redhead call her again.

"What? Oh, yeah, that's the third one. Maybe I'll stay home one day and wait to for the delivery man and tell him to send them back." She said, her voice colder than the Himalayas in winter. The others sensed it and quickly changed the subject.

Crystal got up and dragged her legs to her and Jean's temporary room. She pulled her phone out and stared at the screen as she sat on her bed. It had been a few days since they found the Professor and got back to the Institute. Her phone had died while they had been on the run and she had since charged it. She just never changed the lock screen picture.

It was still a picture of her and Pietro. To her dismay, she could still remember it perfectly. He had taken her to a carnival that was in town, and she had managed to drag him onto the ferris wheel.

"_I hate ferris wheels! They're so slow!" He groaned as the ride started to churn. _

_She giggled, playfully smacking his arm. "Don't be such a sour puss! It'll be fun! We could see the stars and moon shining over Bayville from the top." She said dreamily, with a sigh. _

_He had stared at her for most of the ride. He played with her hair when he got bored of the slowness of the giant wheel. When the ride got to the top, she pulled out her phone and took a selfie, one of the many things humans did with cell phones, with him. Right as she was about to take the picture, Pietro kissed her on the lips and grabbed the phone from her, taking a picture of their intimate moment. Before he gave it back to her, he set it as her lock screen. _

"_What was that for?" She asked, taking her phone from him. She looked at the screen and blushed. "Change it back!" She cried out, laughing as she tried to give the phone back to him._

_He had refused, saying that it was a symbol of their eternal friendship, "I like you too much to change it back!" That seemed to be his favorite excuse. _

Tears formed in her eyes as she relived the memory. _If you liked me that much, why did you leave? Why did you leave me alone?_ She sobbed, pulling her knees up and holding herself. Not since she had first found out about Pietro's betrayal had she allowed herself to cry. The X-Men needed her help in order to survive the hateful world. Now, though, back at the Institute and with the Professor safe, she just let it all out. Her hands clutched her iPhone to her chest, as if she was trying to absorb in a happy memory of Pietro into herself. She wanted all of her sad memories and feelings taken out of her and be replaced with her happy moments with him. There are dreams that cannot be, though.

For once, Maximus didn't bother her or taunt her. He left her mind for moment, to let the girl grieve the loss of her first love. She wouldn't notice his absence. She barely started noticing him there until he started to openly communicate with her. Maximus rolled his eyes as he stared at himself in the mirror that was in his cell.

The boy was not a part of his plan. Hell, _most _of the events that have happened to Crystalia lately were out of his control. _Those fools still really haven't realized what happened to her. They're suspicious, though. _He pondered telling them about their little one's broken heart, just to see their reactions. That would reveal his role in her disappearance, though, and no matter how fun and amusing their reactions to Crystalia's pain would be, he wasn't ready to reveal his motives yet.

The chess board that was the Royal Family was not set up yet.

* * *

She stirred awake from her dreamless sleep. It was the first time in months that she hadn't had a nightmare that was driven on by Maximus and his annoying games. Maybe he had finally given up on her. She hoped that he was done with her, but she knew that probably wasn't the case. He would be back to taunt her, she knew that much. The real question was when he would be back.

Sitting up, she noticed that Jean wasn't in her bed yet. It's probably not too late. She thought, yawning. A dull ache went up her body from her feet. Looking down, she realized that she had fallen asleep with her shoes still on. Kicking them off, Crystal stood up and stumbled towards the door. She looked out the door and saw no one in the hall, but heard the hum of voices coming from their makeshift living room. She walked in, stifling a yawn.

Crystal plopped down on the couch next to Logan, who was reading the newspaper while watching an military show. She reached for the remote, but he glared and growled at her. "You aren't even watching it!" She screeched as he snatched it from , she sat cross legged and watched it. It made absolutely no sense. These guys were acting like fools in the middle of the way and barely cared about it! With an eye roll, she got up and creeped to the kitchen.

The large clock in there said that it was close to eight. The others were talking about when they would go back to school and how the others students would react. Crystal thought the whole school thing was tedious. Unless the other students learns to accept mutants, and indirectly accept inhumans, then nobody would be happy. Crystal sat down next to Jean.

"Frankly, I'm not surprised this happened this way. Humans have had a long history of not accepting those who are different than them." Crystal said somberly as she looked down at the table.

The others nodded, realizing that she had a point. "Well, have to see what the Professor says about it tomorrow." Scott told them, trying to raise their spirits a bit. "It'll all get better in time."


	3. Decisions, Decisions

The large dog sat on a large rock at the bottom of a waterfall. He was in a forest with very large trees, taller than any building in Attilan. He had heard some travelers call them Redwoods. _Dog can feel her here! Friend used a lot of powers here. Dog miss Crystal. Dog want to find her!_

Lockjaw couldn't understand why it was so hard to find his best friend. Her scent used to be so easy to track, even when she had secretly left Attilan when the others had told her not to. He cried loudly, as if in pain. He was in pain though, the scent he had grown so used to over the past sixteen years had changed so much since the last time he had tracked her.

_Dog just wants to sit in her lap again._ He cried again before a portal opened. He took one last sniff around the clearing before jumping into the portal, closing it behind him.

* * *

If anything could be called a walk of shame, then it had to be the X-Men's walk into school on their first day back. Whispers surrounded them as they walked towards the building. Students pointed, hushed, stared, and started rumors. Every step they took was accompanied by a glare from another student.

_If this is how humans act toward their own kind, then it only shows how they'll act if Inhumans ever reveal themselves._ Crystal thought, keeping a straight face throughout the walk to the school. As a member of the royal family, she was trained to keep her cool in less than happy crowds. _Might as well putt it to good use._

A few students heckled the X-Men as they continued their approach. Most told them to go home and that nobody wanted them there. One student told them not to blow up Bayville High. That almost sent Evan over the edge, but Scott calmed him down.

"Where'd Kurt go? He was just here." Kitty asked Crystal. They looked around and scowled when they saw him talking and laughing with the same students who told them to go home. Kurt shrugged at them sheepishly before turning back to his friends.

Crystal and Kitty scoffed. "Let's just go." Crystal said to Kitty, leading her away from Kurt's direction.

As they caught up with the others, Jean had run into Duncan. She didn't look impressed with him when she heard his ideas for her powers. "Y-you lug head! We are so through!" She yelled before pushing past him. The others followed suit before heading to their lockers.

Crystal's locker, which was notorious for not opening, was going through its usual battle with her. Usually Lance or Pietro would open it for her, but she was on her own now and powerless. "Why does this have to happen today?" She groaned.

Just as she was about to give up, someone came over and hit the top of the locker. It opened up, and Crystal grabbed her things. Looking up, she saw a guy in a letterman jacket, black jeans, and dark red tshirt. He had a head of beautiful brown hair and eyes to match. His smile was dazzling as well.

"Dane? Thanks. I gotta get going before I'm late." Crystal muttered, gesturing towards her class.

Dane smiled at her and shut her locker. "Hey, Crystal. I just wanted to tell you if you ever need someone to talk about your situation with, I'm here for you." He told her as they walked to her class.

"My situation? What situation?" She asked, crossing her arms over her torso. His choice of words appalled her.

"You know, the mutant thing. I saw you on the new." Dane admitted, as they got close to her first class..

She rolled her eyes. He was just like the others. He had no clue about what was really happening in her confusing life. Crystal herself barely knew. If she ever did confide in him, Dane would only push her away. "Thanks, but not right now." She said while going into her class.

How could he ever understand what she was through? He was normal, popular, and human. Dane Whitman's life would be a happy and safe one. The life of a human who didn't feel some sort of responsibility towards humanity.

* * *

During the first break of the school day, Duncan Matthews and his posse decided to pay Scott Summers a little visit. They wanted to get him and his other mutant friends kicked out of Bayville High. Duncan also had his own reasons for getting Scott Summers expelled.

"I'm gonna make sure you use your powers, Summers! Then it's bye bye Bayville for you!" Duncan taunted, cracking his knuckles. "Come on, mutie, throw something at me!" He and his cronies approached a fall down Scott.

From opposite corners of the quad, Crystal, Rogue, and Kitty watched the scene go down. Each of them headed towards the fight, When Scott grabbed his glasses, Crystal sped up the best she could have without bringing any more attention to herself. Her pursuit slowed down as Scott started to walk away, but she sped right back up when Duncan grabbed Scott.

Despite the fact that Scott could have easily taken his attackers, he let them shove him around. Duncan's cronies held Scott in place by each grabbing an arm as Duncan took the ruby quartz glasses from Scott's face. The girls looked at each other as they all approached the scene and smirked as Scott tossed the goons off of him and kicked them down.

"I don't need powers to take care of you." Scott said to his assailants as they recovered.

The girls stood in front of Scott, ready to defend their friend. "We got it, Scott." Kitty said.

"Yeah. Dropping these losers is probably worth getting expelled." Rogue teased the boys.

Crystal stifled a laugh. "Although, we probably won't need our powers to deal with them."

Knowing he wouldn't win against the four of them, Duncan tossed Scott's glasses to the ground. "You won't last two days here." He growled out as he and his cronies walked away.

The girls glared at them, making sure they were actually leaving. When they were far enough away, Rogue picked up the glasses and placed them on Scott's face. "It's okay. They're gone."

Scott muttered a thanks before storming away towards a more secluded area of the school's grounds. Before the girls could walk away, a guy came up to them. His clothes and breath smelt a lot like a skunk as he asked them what their powers were. "Can you like read my mind?"

Rogue scoffed and started to walk away. "Yeah, as if I could even find it."

Crystal and Kitty followed her, but not before catching a glimpse of Kurt behind a building. They headed over to him, catching the last of his conversation with some other people.

"We were friends, but not anymore. Oh look, I'm late for class." He said, rounding the corners to see the three pissed off girls. Before they could say anything, Kurt ran off.

"That was weird. He was also acting strangely this morning." Crystal said, staring at Kurt as he went inside.

"He's not willing to stick up for us. Nothing weird about that." Kitty frowned as they headed off towards their glasses.

* * *

Crystal sat in her English class, bored to death. She hated English. It wasn't her worst subject, but she would rather not do it. Why would she need to know how to write a literary analysis on _Catcher in the Rye_ in the real world? Why is knowing the difference between a metaphor and personification important? Crystal wouldn't need to know any of this.

Her vibrating phone disrupted her pessimistic thoughts about the Language Arts. She couldn't get it out of her pocket fast enough and missed the call. Raising her hand, she excused herself from class. As she went down the halls, she pulled out it phone. Wanda had called her.

Wanda had shut most people out of her life after New York. She couldn't blame her, either. Her father and brother, both of whom earned explicit curses from Crystal, faked their deaths and exposed mutants to a hateful world. She texted Crystal a few times, wondering about her brother's possible location, but Crystal had told her everything she knew: nothing.

With a sigh, she called Wanda back. "Hey, what's up?" Crystal asked, a part of her not wanting to know what was up.

"I'm getting closer to finding Pietro. Has he tried contacting you lately?" Wanda asked in hushed tones.

Crystal shook her head. "No, not exactly. He sent me flowers a few days ago, for the third time, but didn't put a return address on them again. You know I would have went after him if there were." She told Wanda, hoping the girl wouldn't direct her anger towards her.

Wanda sighed, her breath shaking. "I know, Crystal. I just wanted to make sure you weren't hiding anything from me or something….and I'm sorry about everything that has happened."

Crystal frowned. Why was Wanda apologizing to her? Was it on her idiot brother's behalf? "Don't, Wanda. I should be sorry. I should have seen this coming, or at least been more concerned or something. Hell, there's a lot of things we could have done differently, but everything has already happened. We can't change the universe." Crystal said, leaning her back against the lockers.

For a moment, Crystal was convinced that Wanda hung up on her. Finally, the girl spoke again. "Thank you, Crystal." And then she hung up.

After she composed herself, Crystal saw Principal Kelly doing something from down the hall. She approached the scene just as Jean was leaving the gym. They both asked what the principal was doing as he put numerous trophies in a box, particularly girls' soccer and boys' basketball.

"I'm afraid an inquiry is going on to determine if Bayville High deserves some of these sports awards." He said dejectedly.

"What are people accused of doing?" Jean asked, confused.

"Not people, mutants. Just because you can't act normal." Principal Kelly said, as if the word mutants burned his mouth.

"Just because we have different gifts, doesn't mean we're not normal." Jean defended, trying to stay calm.

Crystal, on the other hand, felt her temper rise up as she moved to stand next to Jean. "We are people! We can't choose what gifts we get or who we become!" She said, old feelings of resentment rising within her.

Principal Kelly glared at them. "This school has been _plagued _by disasters. Earthquake, fires, explosions, vicious beasts. It all makes sense now. You're a menace." Their principal, the person at school that they should've trusted, told them.

Jean nearly choked on the tears she was holding back. "No, not all of us." She barely got that out before she had to swallow the lump in her throat.

"You're right. Some of you are cheats! So, I'm going to need your soccer MVP trophy returned." And with that, Principal Kelly started to walk away with his box of rewards.

Crystal glared at the man. "How dare you! You know nothing about what mutants go through!"

"That is so unfair!" Jean shouted at him.

"Fiery tempers. That's a dangerous combination to have your girls' powers." The principal said, hitting the girls in their sore spots.

_I'll show you a fiery temper!_ Crystal thought loudly, biting her tongue. She knew if she snapped at Principal Kelly, the others would get in trouble for what she did. Her hands started to burn slightly as she clenched her fists.

"I have control over my emotions! Crystal as well!" Jean defended as Kelly turned back around.

"And I have a responsibility to keep the normal students out of harm's way!" Principal Kelly spat out as he started to walk away again.

Jean glared at him now. "And just what are you saying?" She said, knowing just well what he was implying, with or without mind reading powers.

He didn't answer her as he really walked away now. "I'll see you girls tonight."

When he was far away from them, Crystal kicked the wall, crying out in rage. Jean just watched her friend. She would rather have Crystal scuff a few walls and dent a few lockers instead of having her toss a hurricane Principal Kelly's way. "If you speak tonight, Jean, give them hell! Show them that we are not to be feared. Show them that people who are different from humans are not the enemy! I don't want every human to turn out like that man!"

* * *

Crystal stood in the lobby of the auditorium of Bayville High. She stared at her phone, debating whether she should call the person who was partially responsible for this whole mess in the first place. With an angry sigh, she pressed call, waiting as it rang.

Finally, Pietro answered. "Cry-!" He said, but she didn't give him a chance.

"Don't talk. I'm going to do all of the talking right now. You did not handle things right at all. From the very beginning, you didn't care about this relationship. I thought you cared about me, but anything we had together, you pissed on. You could have told me that your loyalties were with your father. You could have told me that you planned on leaving with him, but no. You ended up leaving me for dead twice. TWICE, PIETRO." Crystal ranted into her phone, as she heard Jean's speech starting and something happening outside.

Crystal took a deep breath. "Oh, and give my regards to your father. The same father that you claimed to resent and hate. The same father that you emancipate yourself from because you hated the way he neglected and ignored you. The same father that tore your sister away from you. Think about that for awhile Pietro.

"Tell him thank you for making the world a living hell for mutants and future Inhumans. Not only me, but your sister and friends, the only people who actually gave a damn about you in this terrible world, are being persecuted over something we had little or no control over.

"You and I have walked this fragile line for too long. I'm done. It's over. I thought I had you figured out, but something went terribly wrong. I don't what changed you, everything was seemingly great before New York. I don't want to keep holding on to nothing right now. Bye, Pietro." She said while hanging up the phone.

Everything started shaking, and for a moment, she thought her powers were reacting to her emotions. The fault line started from the outside, though. "Oh no. Not now." She said, running outside.

Lance was causing earthquakes higher on the Richter scale. Knowing she couldn't use her powers, Crystal tried to dodge the coming quakes and the running people. A little girl with blonde hair stared at a car that was flying right towards her. Crystal ran with all the speed she could muster, using the wind to propel her forward. Right as the car was about to hit the girl, Crystal got her out of the way, breaking the girl's fall on the asphalt.

She took her place with the X-Men on the steps of the entrance of the auditorium. "Let's hope the school board only bans the Brotherhood." Crystal said, trying everyone's mood, including her own.

* * *

_In a cave, illuminated by blue crystals, a man stood, waist deep, in the bluest water one could ever see. He was surrounded by mist that was the same shade of blue as the water. Power shone behind his eyes, as did wonder and amazement. He had never felt so alive as he did in the mist. The mist gave him power again. It gave him more power than any mutation could. Nothing mattered to him but the mist. He wanted it. He craved it. He needed it. His father would finally accept him if he told him of this power giving substance._

_He looked at the small girl wading in the water across from him. She looked the same to him, but her eyes were glowing gold rather than their radiant blue. She looked at him, scared and frightened. He reached for her, but she recoiled._

"_Luna…" He whispered to her, waiting for her to grab his hand as she always did when he reached for her._

"_My eyes hurt...It's all your fault!" She cried out, being pulled away from him by an invisible force._

_He shook his head, trying to run towards her, but the water weighed him down. "It's your birthright! I was only trying to help you!" He cried out to her, his attempt to grasp her hand futile. _

_She didn't speak then, but instead faded back into the darkness._

Pietro woke up with a jolt, covered in a sheet of sweat, his heart pounding. As he sat up, he realized he had no idea what he had just dreamed. Something about a man, cave, mist, and a little girl. Shaking his head, Pietro swung his legs over the side of the bed, about to get up.

His hands quickly felt around the bed stand. Once he found what he was looking for, he lit up the room with the back light of his cell phone. With a sigh he stared at the screen picture rather than the time. The Acolytes teased him about the picture, telling him it was over between him and the girl he was with in it, especially after the phone call he got from her earlier that evening. His father and his new henchman all overheard bits and pieces of the conversation.

In reality, everything had happened too fast for him. Of all of the things that could have felt like an eternity to him, it wasn't his relationship with Crystalia Amaquelin. With a growl, directed at himself more than anything, he tossed his phone onto the other side of the bed, before laying back down and going back to sleep in the small motel room.

**A/N: This really didn't go as planned. Oh, but look! Dane Whitman is back! Don't know if he'll be back again. Maybe. Tell me how you feel about Crystal's break up with Pietro, Pietro's dream (cookies to those who can identify the scene!), Lockjaw in the Redwoods, anything! I just love reviews.**


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